Joshua Kosman January 26, 2021Updated: January 26, 2021, 7:38 pm
Edward Elgar’s First Symphony enjoyed widespread acclaim after its 1908 premiere. Photo: Reginald Haines
In 1908, the 51-year-old composer Edward Elgar premiered his First Symphony to immediate and widespread acclaim. In a gratifying turn of events for this perennially sensitive and insecure artist, the piece was taken up globally; it received 82 performances within the first year alone, including local premieres in Vienna, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Toronto and Sydney.
The symphony, in other words, went viral.
In today’s hyperlinked world, you might think this kind of runaway phenomenon would be even more common. But it’s not in part because most orchestras and opera companies operate on a pre-internet time scale, with long advance planning that leaves them unable to pounce on what’s hot
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